South Salt Lake firefighter David Larsen was honored at the
South Salt Lake City Council meeting on Feb. 8 for his achievement of earning a
certificate of supervising fire officer. Larsen was recognized by Fire Chief
Ron Morris and other members of the South Salt Lake Fire Department.

“Firefighter David Larsen has achieved a rather significant
event in his career,” Morris said. “There have been 12 to 18 people in the
state who have achieved this so it’s a big deal.”

The certificate was presented by David Owens, the program
manager of the Utah Fire and Rescue Academy, which is the governing body of the
certificate earned by Larsen.

“I find it a great honor to come to do this. Not only do I
find it an honor, I find it comforting. I think you should too. Chief Morris
and I have been friends for a very long time and we’ve been in the fire
service. It’s our craft,” Owens said. “We both take it very seriously and try
to do as much as we can. When you have that craft, that passion for what you
do, you want to make sure the upcoming generation has that same passion.”

Owens explained Larsen had to put forth a great amount of
effort to achieve this certification, including creating a portfolio containing
all of Larsen’s education experience and certifications.

“It goes way over and above what he needs to do to just do
this job,” Owens said. “That being said, I’d really like to thank him for
carrying on and keeping the craft and the ever-changing science of firefighting
alive and doing the best he can.”

Councilwoman Sharla Beverly, who was conducting the council
meeting, praised Larsen for his hard work and congratulated him on his
achievement.

“We
have great fire and police officers in our city and they do bring us comfort,” Beverly
said.